Swiss medicines regulator Swissmedic was expected to approve two drugs for Alzheimer‘s disease. But in late January it only approved one, leaving patients in Switzerland with fewer treatment options than in many countries. What happened? For two and a half years, doctors in Switzerland have been eagerly awaiting a decision from Swissmedic on two new drugs for early-stage Alzheimer’s disease – Leqembi (lecanemab) and Kisunla (donanemab). These are the first drugs to slow cognitive decline and address one potential underlying cause of the disease – amyloid plaques in the brain. Leqembi garnered more media attention as it was approved by the US regulator in July 2023 – a year before Kisunla. Since then, more than 50 countries have approved it. Both drugs were submitted to Swissmedic for approval within six months of each other in 2023. News finally arrived in early February that Swissmedic had authorised Kisunla, Eli Lilly’s treatment for early-stage Alzheimer’s disease, on January 22 ...
